Egyptian authorities have informed the Sri Lanka embassy in Cairo that 137 people claiming to be Sri Lankans are stranded at the Egyptian Red Sea border point of Halayeb and Shalateen,about 500 km from Cairo.

The Foreign Ministry said it had directed the Embassy in Cairo to send officials to the area to collect more details about the stranded people and determine whether they were Sri Lankans.

It said the embassy would make arrangements with the Egyptian government to repatriate them if they were found to be Sri Lankans.